Federal Bill to Hold USDA and Animal Exploiters Accountable: Urge Your Representative to Sign On!

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For years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has failed to hold circuses, roadside zoos, and puppy mills accountable when they break the law—all as part of a speciesist policy of prioritizing the commercial interests of animal-exploiting businesses over the needs of the animals the law is supposed to protect. As a result, animals suffer and die while chronic violators of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) rarely face meaningful consequences. However, that could soon change.

Here’s a case in point. Since 2015 when the USDA fined the Barry R. Kirshner Wildlife Foundation $5,464 for six alleged AWA violations, the Oroville, California, roadside zoo has racked up 23 additional AWA citations with no meaningful repercussions. Kirshner’s inability to meet the country’s bare minimum animal care requirements involves repeated failures to provide animals with adequate veterinary care, including a lion cub named Lucie (pictured above as an adult) who was so severely lame and uncomfortable that she was unwilling to stand. Twice since 2019, the USDA has cited Kirshner for failing to provide big cats with ways to cool off in temperatures above 100 degrees. Instead of revoking the roadside zoo’s license, the agency issued it an official warning in 2021. Kirshner has been cited for continuing to violate the AWA in all five inspections that have been made public since receiving the warning.

The Animal Welfare Enforcement Improvement Act (HR 3859)—a bill introduced by U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.)—would end the USDA’s practice of relicensing chronic violators such as Kirshner. It would also establish commonsense veterinary requirements—such as annual exams, routine vaccinations, testing and treatment for parasites, and other preventive care. And it would hold the USDA publicly accountable by ensuring public access to the agency’s inspection and enforcement records that it has previously hidden from the public.

We need members of Congress to cosponsor this crucial piece of legislation—please ask your U.S. representative to sign on to HR 3859 today.

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